Prefabricated Pier Stud Assembly with Mold Base for Bridge Cap Installation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In the construction of prefabricated and assembled bridges, ensuring accurate positioning of pier studs is challenging, leading to misalignment of bent caps and increased construction costs and delays due to the need for individual adjustment of each stud.

Innovation Solution

The method involves prefabricated pier studs with pre-embedded steel bars forming a circular ring and prefabricated bent caps with corresponding sleeves, using a bent cap mold base for mutual restraint and an auxiliary adjustment mechanism to ensure precise alignment and adjustment of pier studs, followed by grouting for anchorage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If each single stud of the prefabricated pier studs is individually adjusted and installed one by one, then the positioning accuracy of each stud may be improved, but the construction time and cost increase significantly due to sequential installation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepositioning accuracy of pier studsVSAvoidconstruction efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple pier studs into a single integrated pier stud assembly that is pre-assembled in the factory. This merging of multiple individual studs into one unified component allows for collective adjustment and installation, thereby maintaining positioning accuracy while significantly improving construction efficiency by reducing the number of separate installation operations required.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The pier stud assembly is pre-assembled and pre-adjusted in the factory before being transported to the construction site. This preliminary action ensures that the positioning accuracy is established during manufacturing, and the assembly can be installed as a single unit on-site, eliminating the need for time-consuming individual adjustments and installations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Manufacturing precision

If individual adjustment and installation of each pier stud is performed, then the spatial position accuracy of each stud may be ensured, but the matching degree between pier studs and bent caps deteriorates due to accumulated installation deviations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvespatial position accuracy of pier studsVSAvoidmatching degree between pier studs and bent caps
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

By merging multiple pier studs into a single integrated assembly with a unified base plate, the patent eliminates the accumulation of positioning deviations that would occur with individual stud installations. The base plate serves as a common reference plane that ensures all studs are positioned relative to the same datum, guaranteeing both individual accuracy and overall matching with the bent cap.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses a standardized base plate design that serves as a reusable template or copy across different installation locations. This standardized copying of the base plate configuration ensures consistent positioning and matching between pier stud assemblies and bent caps, eliminating variability caused by individual adjustments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If prefabricated pier studs are installed without a mutual restraint mechanism, then the installation process may be simplified, but the alignment accuracy between adjacent pier studs and bent caps deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstallation process simplicityVSAvoidalignment accuracy of pier studs and bent caps
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple pier studs into a single integrated assembly that functions as one unit during installation. This merging simplifies the installation process by reducing the number of separate operations required, while the integrated structure ensures that all studs maintain their relative positions and align accurately with the bent cap as a group.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The base plate serves as an intermediary component that connects multiple pier studs together and provides a unified interface for alignment with the bent cap. This intermediary structure ensures that the simplified installation process does not compromise alignment accuracy, as the base plate mediates between the individual studs and the final positioning requirement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This method ensures accurate matching between pier studs and bent caps, enhances construction efficiency, improves engineering quality, and allows for quick and stable bonding, while enabling resource-saving recycling of the adjustment mechanisms.

Implementation Method 1

Grouting is performed through the grouting ducts on the bent cap, anchorage is performed between the prefabricated pier studs and the prefabricated bent cap

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGrouting: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentEP3933110B1Cap beam mounting method achieving mutual constraint of adjacent pier columns in prefabricated bridge
Publication Date: 2024.02.28 CHINA TIESIJU CIVIL ENGINEERING GROUP CO LTD
  • EP3933110B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3933110B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3933110B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

An installation method of a bent cap for mutually restraining adjacent pier studs in a prefabricated and assembled bridge is provided. A bent cap mold base is configured in a form of a bent cap, which includes fixedly arranging limiting steel rings at two ends of a rectangular frame and vertically arranging steel bar sleeves in the limiting steel rings, hoisting the cap bent mold base on top portions of adjacent two prefabricated pier studs, such that pier stud pre-embedded steel bars protruding from the top portions of the two prefabricated pier studs are correspondingly inserted into the steel bar sleeves at two ends of the bent cap mold base one by one, and limiting the adjacent two prefabricated pier studs in the bent cap mold base. Through the method provided by the disclosure, construction efficiency of bent cap installation may be significantly improved, and engineering quality may also be ensured.